Does Apple need to refresh iTunes? Probably — Apple's purchase of streaming music service Lala reportedly represents a shift in the company's iTunes strategy. The aim: Make iTunes more Web friendly. — The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is looking to give consumers more ways …

Apple Plots Reboot of iTunes — Apple Inc., the company that restructured the music industry around its iTunes service, is exploring an overhaul of the way it sells and stores music that is aimed at extending its influence to the Web, according to people briefed on the strategy.

New version of Google Mobile App for iPhone in the App Store — Hello, iPhone users! We have just received the good news that our new version of Google Mobile App for iPhone was approved and is now available on in the App Store everywhere. — In this version, we have a redesigned search results display …

Asustek planning to launch Eee Pad device — Asustek Computer is making preparations to launch a new device named Eee Pad featuring a 4- to 7-inch panel, and which will offer a combination of tablet PC and MID functions, according to industry sources. Current details of the Eee Pad suggest …

Dell Android tablet hitting CES 2010 — Dell is to launch an Android-based tablet device, Pocket-lint has learnt, possibly beating the also rumoured Apple tablet to the market. — The new model, which will go up against the currently available Archos Internet Tablet and recently announced JooJoo …

Buy a DVD on Amazon; Start Watching the Movie in Minutes — Amazon.com just launched a promotion dubbed Disc+ On Demand that may well be the start to the industry's first major multi-platform retail experience. Customers who buy select movies on DVD or Blu-ray will be offered the chance …

Windows Live Messenger 2010 revealed — We promised you a look at Windows Live Messenger 2010 earlier this week when we revealed Microsoft is planning both Bing and Messenger iPhone applications next year. — Thanks to an anonymous tipster we received several screenshots of Microsoft's upcoming Messenger client due in 2010.

Cable Freedom Is a Click Away — Welcome to our living room. Take a seat, make yourself comfortable. Would you like to watch a movie, or the new “Family Guy” episode? — Oh, that, over there. You want to know why there's a pile of gadgets and wires on the floor?

‘People looked at me like I was an alien’ — Microsoft researcher Danah Boyd talks about social networking, young people and how the web is more private than your home — From “technology-baffled grannies” to “pale-skinned gaming addicts”, there are so many stereotypes pinging around …

Microsoft Asked Apple To Pull 360 Live — We've told you about 360 Live a little while ago but it seems like it wasn't of Microsoft's taste apparently since they just contacted Apple to have it pulled. — Not that they have an issue with the app itself it's actually the price that bothers them …

Microsoft is developing its own cloud storage O/S — Azure storage software looks home-grown — Comment Microsoft's Azure storage offering suggests it is developing its own cloud storage operating system. — Azure was developed in a Windows Azure Group which was separate from the Windows and Servers Group.

Microsoft adds another company to its healthcare portfolio — Microsoft is continuing to add to its family of healthcare sofware and services with yet another purchase: Sentillion Inc. — On December 10, Microsoft announced its intentions to purchase for an undisclosed amount the privately held Andover …

China Unicom's IPhone Sales Hit 100,000 — China Unicom has sold more than 100,000 iPhones since it launched the country's first official sales of the handset at the end of October, it said Thursday. — The figure is the first China Unicom has revealed since saying a few days after the launch that it had sold just 5,000 iPhones.

Cap My iPhone? Try This Instead, AT&T — AT&T is planning to find ways to convince heavy iPhone users to stop using so much data (despite paying for unlimited plans), as a way to ameliorate the perpetually clogged 3G networks in San Francisco and New York, according to AT&T executive Ralph de la Vega.

New Spotify for Android release — Late last night we released a new version of Spotify for Android. The new version (v 0.3.24) can be downloaded from the Android Market or use your phone's browser and go to m.spotify.com and select the option ‘manual install’. — New features in this release include:

Yahoo joins the real-time search parade — Yahoo is ready to integrate real-time results from Twitter directly onto its search pages. — Not to be outdone by its rivals, Yahoo is getting into the real-time search business as well. — Days after Google announced its plan for integrating content …

Jolicloud pre-beta now ready for download, and I love it — While Chrome OS has been getting the lion's share of netbook/smartbook buzz of late, Tariq Krim and company have been steadfastly plugging away at Jolicloud. — Today, the Jolicloud pre-beta has been released and is ready …

Microsoft knew of just-patched IE zero-day for months — Flaw fixed this week reported by bug bounty program in June — Computerworld - Microsoft may not have hustled as fast as researchers thought when the company patched a zero-day bug in Internet Explorer (IE) just 18 days after exploit code went public.